meet the teachers
These are the teachers for the event in November 2015
Birdy Heywood- Birdy Heywood is a force of Nature, she weaves people together with her love, from her heart and from her art! She has a lovely family, children, mother, and several grandchildren, sisters, brother, and a couple of pet friends and lives in the south of England.
She lives in a small "castle" with dragon friends and bears and has become know as the "Dragon Lady" by all who know her far and wide. It may be because she assists in so many Dragons being birthed on to the planet through word in book and video also.
Birdy's links:
facebook.com/pages/Birds-Dragons/
You can reach Birdy here:
[email protected]
She lives in a small "castle" with dragon friends and bears and has become know as the "Dragon Lady" by all who know her far and wide. It may be because she assists in so many Dragons being birthed on to the planet through word in book and video also.
Birdy's links:
facebook.com/pages/Birds-Dragons/
You can reach Birdy here:
[email protected]
Marie Segal- Marie lives in the southwest of the U.S. Married with children and grandchildren, she stays busy most of the time.
She is happy with art of all kinds and is just about willing to try anything to further her knowledge of the process. She spends a lot of her time with clays because it is what she is most familiar and comfortable with.
She loves sharing her knowledge and meeting like minded people and helping them claim their creativity. She gives them the encouragement needed to coax that out of themselves.
She is constantly trying to keep up with housework and repairs.
Marie's links:
Mariesegal.com
Mariesegal.esty.com
Thehoarderscloset.etsy.com
Craftysellers.etsy.com
www.Clayfactory.net
Mariesegal.blogspot .com
She can be contacted here:
[email protected]
She is happy with art of all kinds and is just about willing to try anything to further her knowledge of the process. She spends a lot of her time with clays because it is what she is most familiar and comfortable with.
She loves sharing her knowledge and meeting like minded people and helping them claim their creativity. She gives them the encouragement needed to coax that out of themselves.
She is constantly trying to keep up with housework and repairs.
Marie's links:
Mariesegal.com
Mariesegal.esty.com
Thehoarderscloset.etsy.com
Craftysellers.etsy.com
www.Clayfactory.net
Mariesegal.blogspot .com
She can be contacted here:
[email protected]
Karen Walker- I live with my two lovely children and my dog. Growing up in Stoke on the Trent, the heart of the pottery industry, I started to teach ceramics, quite a long time ago. I grew in to my own little studio, painting, sculpting and throwing pots on a potters wheel. This was at the time my dream job!
My favorite groups to teach were the elderly and people with disabilities!
My favorite group of people were a group from the ' stroke association'. Just watching their confidence grow each week as they were achieving things that they never thought they would be capable of doing again, simple things, like holding a paintbrush, changed.
I even had a group of adults attending my class once a week, that were blind! I found these people to be such an inspiration in my life!
Needless to say, when the recession hit it all came to an end: for me at the time it was the end of my world; six months of feeling down in the dumps. I got a call from a TV company called 'Ideal World' (Shopping Chanel), it was here that I was asked to demonstrate on live TV using a material called "polymer clay", I had never heard of this product!
I started to play around with it, but I wasn't really that impressed, I was used to real clay that had to be fired in a kiln, not my home oven!
A few weeks later I met a lovely lady at the NEC in Birmingham called Birdy! Boy was I impressed with this material called polymer clay!!! Thank you, Birdy!
Polymer clay is not a hobby it's a way of life for me! A world without polymer clay, for me is an unhappy world!
As Birdy says...Hip hip hooray for polymer clay!
Karen's websites:
http://karen-walker.org
http://www.clayground.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karen-Walker-Creates
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Polymer-portraits
https://www.facebook.com/clayground
You can reach Karen here:
[email protected]
My favorite groups to teach were the elderly and people with disabilities!
My favorite group of people were a group from the ' stroke association'. Just watching their confidence grow each week as they were achieving things that they never thought they would be capable of doing again, simple things, like holding a paintbrush, changed.
I even had a group of adults attending my class once a week, that were blind! I found these people to be such an inspiration in my life!
Needless to say, when the recession hit it all came to an end: for me at the time it was the end of my world; six months of feeling down in the dumps. I got a call from a TV company called 'Ideal World' (Shopping Chanel), it was here that I was asked to demonstrate on live TV using a material called "polymer clay", I had never heard of this product!
I started to play around with it, but I wasn't really that impressed, I was used to real clay that had to be fired in a kiln, not my home oven!
A few weeks later I met a lovely lady at the NEC in Birmingham called Birdy! Boy was I impressed with this material called polymer clay!!! Thank you, Birdy!
Polymer clay is not a hobby it's a way of life for me! A world without polymer clay, for me is an unhappy world!
As Birdy says...Hip hip hooray for polymer clay!
Karen's websites:
http://karen-walker.org
http://www.clayground.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karen-Walker-Creates
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Polymer-portraits
https://www.facebook.com/clayground
You can reach Karen here:
[email protected]
Jinny Holt- I am 46, going on 26 married with 3 grown up children and a grandson.
I have always been creative in one way or another, be it decorating, gardening, and painting our furniture, much to my husbands dismay!
I have tired many crafts over the years, including card making, encaustic art, friendly plastic, and Jewellery making. It was the latter craft and seeing somethings Birdy had created in a local craft shop near me, that got me into polymer clay.
My children bought me some clay for Christmas 4 years ago and to be honest I have not put it down since! I love clay because it is so versatile and all those other crafts I have tried in the past, I can use all the stash from them with my clay, which keeps my clay widow husband and his wallet happy. Now a days when I am not at work as a support worker, you will find me in my shed, fondly called "Mum's Shed "
Jinny's Facebook page:
http://Facebook.com/MumsShed
You can contact her here:
[email protected]
I have always been creative in one way or another, be it decorating, gardening, and painting our furniture, much to my husbands dismay!
I have tired many crafts over the years, including card making, encaustic art, friendly plastic, and Jewellery making. It was the latter craft and seeing somethings Birdy had created in a local craft shop near me, that got me into polymer clay.
My children bought me some clay for Christmas 4 years ago and to be honest I have not put it down since! I love clay because it is so versatile and all those other crafts I have tried in the past, I can use all the stash from them with my clay, which keeps my clay widow husband and his wallet happy. Now a days when I am not at work as a support worker, you will find me in my shed, fondly called "Mum's Shed "
Jinny's Facebook page:
http://Facebook.com/MumsShed
You can contact her here:
[email protected]
Helen Cruickshank- I work as an Occupational Therapist in a community mental health team. I work with people with various mental conditions and help them manage the symptoms of their ill health in order to be able to function in all areas of life.
One of the groups I run is for people with anxiety, it is a craft group and I am always looking for new and different crafts to teach them. A shop had an offer on a pack of 20 small blocks of fimo clay, and I made simple beads with the clients. they were a huge success and this is now a craft that I get asked to repeat many times. They have now made a chicken, an owl, a turtle and a spoon, and their anxiety is almost forgotten in their absorption in creating. It is the most wonderful feeling when you facilitate change in someone, and I find that whenever we use clay in the group, there is a real change in their self-esteem and confidence.
I made myself a necklace of licorice allsorts beads, and couldn't believe how many people commented on it; this was the start of the obsession.
I then heard about Birdy through someone who had bought a pendant from her, and went for a lesson. Oh wow, the world of clay opened up due to learning how to use a pasta machine!!!! Birdy totally inspired me, and although I admired her dragons immensely, I wanted to make something unique to me, something that was meaningful, and of course, chickens sprung immediately to mind. I adore animals; I have chickens, dogs, horses and cats. Animals to me are honest, companionable, trustworthy and totally non-judgemental.
This is why the majority of my work is making animals, with the odd pendant thrown in!
I have done many crafts over the years, but I cannot foresee myself ever giving this one up. The scope for creativity is enormous, as is the opportunity to share the skill, and empower others. To hear someone say 'wow' when they cut open a cane they've made and see the result is indescribable. I shall continue on my quest to make the ultimate chicken, and eventually hope to write a book.
Helen's Facebook community:
http://facebook.com/crookychooks
You can reach Helen here:
[email protected]
One of the groups I run is for people with anxiety, it is a craft group and I am always looking for new and different crafts to teach them. A shop had an offer on a pack of 20 small blocks of fimo clay, and I made simple beads with the clients. they were a huge success and this is now a craft that I get asked to repeat many times. They have now made a chicken, an owl, a turtle and a spoon, and their anxiety is almost forgotten in their absorption in creating. It is the most wonderful feeling when you facilitate change in someone, and I find that whenever we use clay in the group, there is a real change in their self-esteem and confidence.
I made myself a necklace of licorice allsorts beads, and couldn't believe how many people commented on it; this was the start of the obsession.
I then heard about Birdy through someone who had bought a pendant from her, and went for a lesson. Oh wow, the world of clay opened up due to learning how to use a pasta machine!!!! Birdy totally inspired me, and although I admired her dragons immensely, I wanted to make something unique to me, something that was meaningful, and of course, chickens sprung immediately to mind. I adore animals; I have chickens, dogs, horses and cats. Animals to me are honest, companionable, trustworthy and totally non-judgemental.
This is why the majority of my work is making animals, with the odd pendant thrown in!
I have done many crafts over the years, but I cannot foresee myself ever giving this one up. The scope for creativity is enormous, as is the opportunity to share the skill, and empower others. To hear someone say 'wow' when they cut open a cane they've made and see the result is indescribable. I shall continue on my quest to make the ultimate chicken, and eventually hope to write a book.
Helen's Facebook community:
http://facebook.com/crookychooks
You can reach Helen here:
[email protected]
To enquire about this event please contact [email protected]